Which Makarov type pistol is best?

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Texfire said:
+1 for the CZ-82/83. Okay it's not a Makarov, but a Iron Curtain milsurp chambered in Makarov and I don't care. It's the only option for a southpaw in 9x18 and I love mine. Good shooting straight-blowback pistol, cocked and locked, with a sweet single-action trigger, and 12+1 rounds of 9x18 Mak is nothing to sneeze at.
Tex
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I agree about CZ-83... I'm somewhat ambidextrous. So I can relate to lefties.. I'm also recoil sensitive. When my right hand-thumb gets sore, I switch to lefty. Therefore I like the idea of an ambi gun. I haven't yet tried my CZ-83 lefty, but I assume it should work well when I do. In the past, I've only shot revolvers lefty (and righty). Autos I've only used righty. I'm looking forward to trying my CZ-83 lefty (as well as my usual righty).

(I'm referring to two handed righty and two handed lefty)
 
Interesting. I'm no Mak expert, but...

albanian said:
While no Makarov can be considered "good" I would vote for the Bulgarian as the best deal as well. Maks are so out dated it aint funny. They are heavy, ugly, uncomfortable, have lousy triggers and sights and fire a stupid caliber that will be extinct in the near future.

They are reliable which along with being inexpensive are the only two things they really have going for them. Some people claim to get decent accuracy out of them but I would be willing to bet that if you took 100 Bersas and a 100 Maks and shot them side by side, more Bersas would be accurate than Maks......
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Interesting. I'm no Mak expert. I don't even own one, but I think they're beautiful. I like heavy. I like the 9x18 and I don't think it will ever become extinct. Based on what I've read, the 9x18 is becoming more popular all the time.

I too love Bersas. I also love CZ-83s. I like the Makarov as a facination. I can't state they're good or bad from personal experience, but I do observe that logically they must have some pretty good attributes to have lasted so long in Soviet service and then to have developed a cult following of Makarovnicks in the USA and worldwide. How could a gun that popular be bad? How could millions of people all over the world be wrong? Outdated? Obviously, but does that matter? I could list a dozen or more outdated guns that are still loved and carried. I think term I'd use is "classic".
 
Makarov saftety

I want to carry with saftety on, decocked, and have the fast ergonomic downward thumb saftety sweep. Only the Makarovs do this. This is the best feature of the Maks, in my opinion.

Why don't Bersa and others copy the Mak style of safety?
 
The_Shootist said:
Maybe the EG Maks have better looks/triggers cosmetically, but i bet they aren't worth the extra $ 150 or so, compared to a Bulgy.
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I paid $150 more for my EG than for my Bulgy and feel I got my money's worth. For the Bulgy, under my state's permit-to-purchase process the local sheriff made me wait at least a week for a permit and charged me $10 for it (plus I had to drive in the impossible traffic and find an available parking meter in the county seat TWICE to get it) then he keeps a record of the purchase forever, and the dealer charged me sales tax (if I had bought it out of state and had it shipped to my dealer, he would have charged me a transfer fee.)

For the EG, I sent makarov.com my C&R license, gave 'em a credit card, and paid overnight shipping. Gun was in my hands the next day, and it's none of the sheriff's business. Transaction cost (overnight shipping) was $7 more than the permit fee + sales tax on the Bulgy. In addition, the EG is a more "finished" gun, both in trigger feel and metal work.

That said, both go bang equally well, and I actually carry the Bulgy (with an EG grip), on the theory that it will get more cosmetic wear, plus if I ever have to use it I may well lose it, and it cost less.
 
wbond said:
I want to carry with saftety on, decocked, and have the fast ergonomic downward thumb saftety sweep. Only the Makarovs do this. This is the best feature of the Maks, in my opinion.

Why don't Bersa and others copy the Mak style of safety?
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AMEN! All side mounted decocker/safetys should be this way!
 
I always thought the Makarov would be an ideal gun for someone used to 1911 or BHP designs and who wanted a to try out a DA pistol or use one as a backup. As for Bersa being superior to a Makarov, the one example of a Bersa I had bought (though in fairness used) sucked. I like the all steel construction of the Makarov, the long service history, and the slightly bigger and more powerful(debateable) 9x18Mak round.
 
I see stuff floating around that may or may not be a Makarov. Are the surplus items still out there? Or are people trying to snow newbies like myself?
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Why in the world would you reply to a thread that's over 2 years old? Start a new thread if you want to find out something.
 
Well, you are here now so...

I see stuff floating around that may or may not be a Makarov. Are the surplus items still out there? Or are people trying to snow newbies like myself?
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9 years ago, you could pick up an excellent condition EG Mak for $100. The days of the cheap Mak are over but you can still find the occasional deal on Gunbroker.

The CZ-82s (also 9X18) are still available at a good price.
 
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Maks just plain rock. They were and ARE and ingenious design, the are accurate, and reliable as a rock. Just my humble opinion.
 
the gentleman who runs Box O' Truth says the mak evidently shoots as well as his colt gold cup.
 
My thumb is sore. I hate straight blowback designs. Just put 150 rounds through the MAK yesterday. Today I am going out to put 200 through my CZ82. Then If my thumb gets really sore, I am going to do this next Sat and Sun.

I tried to figure out what was wrong with me, and I discovered that I just got another thousand rounds for 169. I guess that is it. Fun beats pain.

I love these guns
 
don't be sorry hollywood.this was a good one to bring back,just to see the prices escalate if nothing else. if anything,we need more posts and fewer threads. imagine if only all the 45 vs 9 and ak vs ar threads were merged.
 
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